Converting Declarative to Exclamatory Sentences: Grammar Explained

The question asks us to transform a given declarative sentence into an exclamatory sentence. A declarative sentence makes a statement, while an exclamatory sentence expresses strong emotion or surprise and ends with an exclamation mark (!).

The original sentence is:

Major Dhyan Chand was a great hockey player.

This is a declarative sentence in the simple past tense.

Understanding Exclamatory Sentence Formation

Exclamatory sentences are often formed using "What" or "How".

• Using "What": Typically used before a noun phrase (often with an adjective). The structure is often: What + (a/an) + adjective + noun + subject + verb!
• Using "How": Typically used before an adjective or adverb. The structure is often: How + adjective/adverb + subject + verb!

When converting a declarative sentence like "Subject + verb + (adjective) + noun" to an exclamatory one, using "What a..." followed by the adjective and noun phrase is common, maintaining the original subject and verb.

Analyzing the Options for Exclamatory Transformation

Let's look at each option provided to see which one correctly converts the original sentence while maintaining the past tense and proper structure.

Option 1: What a great hockey player major Dhyan Chand is!

• Starts with "What a great hockey player", which is a correct structure.
• Uses the subject "major Dhyan Chand". However, "Major" as part of the name/title should be capitalized.
• Uses the verb "is". The original sentence uses the verb "was" (simple past tense). This option changes the tense to present tense, which does not accurately reflect the original statement about the past.
• Ends with an exclamation mark.
• Incorrect due to capitalization and incorrect tense.

Option 2: What a great hockey player Major Dhyan Chand was!

• Starts with "What a great hockey player", which is a correct structure for expressing strong feeling about the subject being a great hockey player.
• Uses the subject "Major Dhyan Chand". Capitalization is correct.
• Uses the verb "was". This matches the tense (simple past) of the original sentence.
• Ends with an exclamation mark.
• This option correctly transforms the declarative sentence into an exclamatory one, maintaining the original meaning and tense, and using correct grammar and capitalization.

Option 3: What great hockey player Major Dhyan Chand had been!

• Starts with "What great hockey player". For a singular countable noun like "player", we usually need "a" before "great hockey player" in this structure ("What a great hockey player...").
• Uses the subject "Major Dhyan Chand". Capitalization is correct.
• Uses the verb "had been". This is the past perfect tense. The original sentence is in the simple past tense ("was"). Changing the tense significantly alters the meaning and doesn't reflect the original statement.
• Ends with an exclamation mark.
• Incorrect due to grammatical structure ("What great hockey player" instead of "What a great hockey player") and incorrect tense.

Option 4: How great hockey player Major Dhyan Chand is!

• Starts with "How". "How" is usually followed by an adjective or adverb ("How great...", "How quickly..."). "How great hockey player" is not a standard or grammatically correct structure for an exclamatory sentence.
• Uses the verb "is". Again, this changes the tense from the original "was" (simple past) to present tense.
• Ends with an exclamation mark.
• Incorrect due to incorrect grammatical structure and incorrect tense.

Based on the analysis, only Option 2 correctly converts the declarative sentence into an exclamatory sentence while preserving the tense and using proper grammatical structure.

Correct Exclamatory Statement

The correct exclamatory statement is:

What a great hockey player Major Dhyan Chand was!

Sentence Types in English Grammar: Revision Table

Additional Information on Sentence Transformation

Transforming sentences between different types is a common exercise in English grammar. When changing a sentence from one type to another, it's important to consider:

• Meaning: The core meaning of the sentence should ideally be preserved.
• Tense: The verb tense should usually remain the same unless the transformation specifically requires a tense change (like changing direct speech to indirect speech, which is not the case here).
• Structure: The sentence structure must follow the rules for the target sentence type (e.g., the structure for exclamatory sentences using "What" or "How").
• Punctuation: The correct end punctuation mark must be used for the target sentence type.

In this question, maintaining the past tense ("was") was crucial for a correct transformation.